Emma Wijnberg, occupational therapist and parenting mentor at Little Lives Occupational Therapy, discusses sensory overload during the silly season and offers advice on how to keep your sensitive children calm during this time.
For the past few months, we have been chatting about how the way our children process sensory information influences their behaviour. In my experience, over the Christmas season, we see sensory-related behaviours increasing exponentially, and very often, we as parents do NOT have a very Merry Christmas at all!
Why? And how can we, as parents help our children to stay calm during this time?
If you think about what happens in most families at this time of year, with sensory processing in mind, it becomes quite clear as to why we see a change in our children’s behaviour.
Are you going away? Long car journeys, for starters. How does sitting still for long periods of time affect our sensory seeker? Our little lives that NEED to move to be in a calm emotional state? Sit down family meals, eating out… Consider the times that our little sensory seekers are required to inhibit their need to move in order to be socially acceptable. With this in mind, be aware of the imminent meltdown or difficult behaviour that may ensue during or after these events.
Change in routine. First of all, no school, which often means we lose the predictability of our morning routine which is often a crucial start for our sensitive children. Time away from home, family visiting, even presents and Father Christmas! Surprises and out of the ordinary events that should be exciting might cause a sense of unease and anxiety in our sensitive children.
Don’t underestimate the way routine and predictability influence the way our sensitive little lives behave and regulate their emotions.
New (and more) sensory input. Christmas carols, decorations, new tastes, new smells, new people in our space, less sleep, more sugar – the list goes on. Sensory input changes often increase during this time of year. Our sensory seekers LOVE this, but very often become overstimulated and disorganised, which inevitably leads to difficult behaviour. Our sensitive little ones may withdraw and avoid or become over-stimulated very quickly and present with meltdowns.
How can we, as parents, help? BE AWARE. It is important to be aware of what types of sensory input your little one needs to be in a calm emotional state. How much of what is too much? If your little life needs to move, make sure that they have the opportunity to have movement breaks on long car journeys, before or during long family dinners etc.
Provide some degree of routine and predictability where you can. Introduce a visual calendar, so your child can predict what is happening – and when. A daily visual schedule is also very helpful, in that children can use this as a tool to understand what to expect next in their day, as well as have some degree of control in terms of the kinds of things THEY would like to include in their day. (We have free visual schedules available – pop us an email if you would like us to send you one).
When our children do become dysregulated, for whatever reason, which is inevitable this time of year (despite your best efforts as a parent), what can we do to help?
1. Deep pressure. Big tight bear hugs, weighted blankets, snuggles or sensory socks (visit our website) and massage can all be very helpful in helping our children to calm down.
2. Backwards and forwards movement input is a great tool for when our children are overstimulated. A short quiet drive, gentle backwards and forwards swinging or even rocking are ideas for calming your over-stimulated child.
3. We can use calming smells. Vanilla, lavender and coconut all have regulating effects.
4. Try to read and recognise the signs. When is it TOO much? When do your little people need to step out of the sensory space to have some quiet time to decompress? Provide spaces for them to do this.
Being aware of the way your child processes sensory information and how you can use sensory input to keep them in a good space over Christmas is an important part of helping YOU as a parent have a happy Christmas experience. Follow our Little Lives Facebook page for more sensory tips and tricks this Christmas Season.
May it be a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for you all!
You can contact Emma Wijnberg on emma@littlelivesoccupationaltherapy.com or visit www.littlelivesoccupationaltherapy.com.